


Hey, remember that time?

by orphan_account



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Anxiety, Awkwardness, Bets, Coffee, Engagement, F/M, Fic based on Song, Flashbacks, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Friendship/Love, M/M, Merthur - Freeform, Pillowfights, Pregnancy, Romance, Smoking, Tangerines, University Reunion, back in the day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-14
Updated: 2013-06-14
Packaged: 2017-12-14 23:48:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/842837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The one where Morgana is being a modern times Emma, Arthur is a protective accountant, Merlin makes babies and is adorable and Gwen eats a lot of tangerines.<br/>Hilarity and a lot of general giddiness ensues.<br/>A story of friendship & love, told in flashbacks of the good times they had when Morgana and Gwen meet up again with Merlin and Arthur for their uni reunion.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hey, remember that time?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lady_ragnell](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lady_ragnell/gifts).



> There's always been that tiny part in me that never got over lady_ragnell's story "I Owe You A Love Song" (the one I also translated), so I have to admit, yes, yes, I 'borrowed' some ideas from her, like using song titles for fic titles.  
> Which is mainly that this fic is told in present tense and that the title is from Regina Spektor's "That Time". (I only ever started listening to Regina because lady_ragnell wrote 'But It's A Good Refrain'.)
> 
> So to speak, this fic would never have been written wouldn't lady_ragnell be so inspiring. (And hilarious, and wonderful, and you know, all the synonyms for brilliant you care to find.)
> 
> Please check out her works, too!
> 
>  
> 
> Also, this isn't real crack, but overall very happy and a good thing to read when you're in need of a bit sunshine in your life, I guess. (At least that's what it meant for me when I wrote it.) When you know the song, you will find lots of parallels to it's lyrics, if you don't, then, well, you probably won't but that's okay, you can always listen to it while reading here:  
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05MRbZvzFsw
> 
> And, last but not least, the story-telling mode allows you to skip the first to flashbacks (in italics) and head straight for the Merthur, if you want to ;)

„Merlin!“

„Morgs!“

And Merlin has absolutely no time to avoid the crash of limbs and arms around his neck when he opens the door this Sunday afternoon. It's June 31st, the day before his first uni reunion. And it's been some time since he's seen Morgana the last time, so he has no excuse of being surprised when she finally showers his cheek in kisses.

„Oh my God, it's so good to see you again, you can't even imagine!“

Merlin has to laugh because her breath is tickling, and Arthur emerges from the kitchen.

„Morgana. For one, this is _my_ boyfriend, please go and find one on your own, and second, how come he always gets the hearty greeting and for me there's never much more left than an 'Oh, Arthur, still alive, hmm?'“

„Aw, stop pouting, brother dear, I'd never touch your precious little cupcake.“

„I'm not a cupcake!“, Merlin crosses his arms, mock-affronted, and pouts. But apparently, he's not nearly as good at it as Arthur, because Morgana just pinches his cheek and then continues to hug Arthur.

„Hi, Morgs“, he says into her ear, „It's good to see you again.“

„It's good to see you, too.“

Merlin does not start to hum the _Chapperdey's_ melody, because these moments are rare for Morgana and Arthur. Especially because they haven't seen each other in real life – thank God there are such things as Skype – for at least four years.

„You know what would have been even better than just to see you?“

„What?“

„If you would have let you being picked up at the airport by us for once.“

„Some things will never change, will they?“

„Apparently not.“

Merlin sighs. They're still smiling at each other, so no need to safe the situation yet. Siblings will be siblings. Morgana turns to him again.

„And I told Gwen to look after you. I'm really worried about this café of hers, because _look_ at you! Still no ounce of fat anywhere!”, she pokes his stomach, “Well, at least you're not scrawny any more. Arthur finally convinced you to go to the gym with him, right?”

Merlin nods, sheepishly. Morgana pinches his cheek again. She simply can't let go of her precious little cupcake. (Because he really is hers, if he declines to be Arthur's, anyway.)

“Well, he always had his issues resisting my charm, right?”

Arthur nibs at Merlin's ear and slides his arms around his waist. Morgana giggles, because Merlin _still_ has the decency to blush after... how many years?

“I've got that different in mind, actually.”, he reminds Arthur, and pecks back at his nose.

“Yeah?”

“Yes.”, Morgana approves.

“And apparently you're also still always on Merlin's side. What happened to blood being thicker than water?”

“That's rubbish and you know it. If Gwen'd be here, I were on her side, and you know it. I always had my preferences.”

Arthur rolls his eyes.

“Oh, speaking of Gwen,”, Merlin throws in while they lead Morgana to their living room, still entwined, “you don't have to worry about her, business is going great.”

“Yes, her cakes are grand, Morgana, you have to try them some time. But maybe you need to watch out, I think it's starting to show on Gwen just _how_ good they are...”

This statement fetches Arthur two of the most judgemental glances in world history. Both with raised eyebrows.

“What?”

“Arthur.”, Morgana sighs as she sits down, “please. Even _I_ know that Gwen's pregnant, and I've been across the Atlantic. Really, how thick can one be?”

“Gwen is pregnant!?”

Two eyerolls.

“Hey, don't do that to me. You're in the same room with me again after what, half a decade and I'm the odd one out already? That's not fair.”

“Stop pouting, darling.”

Merlin gives him a quick kiss on the mouth and gets up to fetch drinks for their guest and to leave Morgana and Arthur to catch up a little, as he skyped nearly daily with Morgana, but Arthur barely had enough time on his hands to not get estranged from _him_.

“I can't believe you're still living in this apartment. I was sick and tired of it when I finished uni.”

“Believe it or not, when you've been living here all that time with two girls that not only have the habit of leaving their underwear and magazines and what not literally everywhere while constantly interrupting you from tactfully seducing your boyfriend, you would cherish the place after they moved out.” Arthur smirks.

“Yeah, we had like sex on every surface in the flat for a week .”, Merlin adds coming from the kitchen.

Morgana wrinkles her nose. “Arthur, what have you done with my cupcake! He never would have said that! Also, thank you guys, but too much information.”

She slides one place up on the couch.

Merlin and Arthur exchange a “sorry-not-sorry” glance and shrug. “Sorry.”, they announce and raise their shoulders in unison.

The doorbell rings.

“I get that.”, Merlin gets out of Arthur's lap he had just sit down in and runs to welcome Gwen.

“Not without me!”

Morgana is close behind him and manages to get the first hug from Gwen. (She may have pulled Merlin away the last second before he could, but it's not like anyone would care.)

“Oh, Gwenny, I've missed you so much!”, she squeaks and giggles and Gwens joins her, and wouldn't she be in month six, they both would have jumped around like the little schoolgirls they always behaved like.

“Here we go again.”, says Arthur, once again sliding his arm around Merlin's waist.

Merlin fakes an exasperated sigh and says: “But aren't they cute?”

“Yeah, a little.”

“Hey, we aren't your children!”, claims Gwen after Morgana finally lets her breathe and points at Arthur.

“But sure we can babysit yours some time, can't we?”, Arthur pouts.

“Stop pouting, Arthur. Here, I thought I'd bring some tangerine cake, all self-made and organic from our café, if I'm unable to bring Lance.”

“Ouh, Tangerines again?”, Morgana asks.

“Yes, Tangerines again.", she sighs, "And don't you start, I was only ever able to touch them again when I got pregnant.”

* * *

_Gwen is lying head down on her bed, watching_ Gossip Girl _and eating a tangerine. Morgana marches in and gives her a quick kiss._

_“Episode?”_

_“Three of season two. Tangerine?”_

_“Ugh, no. I hate tangerines.”_

_“Really? Why?”_

_“I don't know. I think the pleasure of tasting them could never weigh out the pains of peeling them.”_

_“It's weird how often you show that you're from a well-situated background.”, Gwen smiles._

_“And an English major”, Merlin adds, just walking by the open door, wearing nothing more than some sweatpants._

_“Why?”, Morgana asks._

_“Did you have to skin tangerines as a child?”_

_Morgana shakes her head._

_“See, Merlin and I would have to. Also, Tangerines are super sweet and juicy and pretty cheap. They have always been my favourite fruit.”_

_“Really?!” Morgana raises her eyebrows._

_“Yes.”, Gwen nods, “I think I could go a month eating nothing else than tangerines.”_

_“No, you couldn't.” Arthur appears in the door._

_Gwen looks up (well, down from her perspective) from the laptop screen._

_“I'm pretty sure I could. I mean, health issues aside, I could.”_

_A tiny smirk starts appearing on Arthur's face._

_“Oh, don't you dare to!”, Morgana exclaims, knowing that smirk a bit too well._

_“Want to bet?”, Arthur asks, leaning casually against the door frame._

_Merlin appears behind him. “What for?”_

_“Gwenny here says she could go a month only eating tangerines.”_

_Gwen sits up properly. This is business._

_“Isn't this a bit unhealthy?” Merlin looks concerned._

_Gwen bites her lip. Then her face lights up. She knows that it would be a bit unhealthy, but to be honest, she is so broke at the moment, she could hardly afford to eat more than tangerines. And this would be a way she could coax money out of Arthur without feeling guilty. He probably knows she's broke, Morgana tells him a lot, but..._

_She pulls off a mischievous smile._

_“What do you wanna bet about?”_

_“Oh no, Gwen, don't do this!”, Morgana throws in._

_“Shh, Morgs, I got this.”, Gwen calms her and puts a hand on her best friends' knee._

_Arthur needs a few seconds for considering._

_“Okay, here's the deal: You try to eat nothing but tangerines for a month. If you do, I pay all your groceries for the following month-"_

_"Changed plan: Do. This.", Morgana interupts._

_"I'm not finished yet, sister dear. But should you not manage to do this...", Arthur makes a dramatic pause. Merlin sucks in a breath. They're a well-rehearsed team by now. (And Arthur always loved a bit of drama.), "then you have to sleep with Gwaine."_

_"What!?"_

_"Just a joke, just a joke.” Arthur raises his arms. Nobody laughs. “No, but if you eat anything else than a tangerine, you have to go on a date with one of my football lads."_

_Now it's Morgana who sucks in a breath._

_  
Everybody knows that there are about three half-decent guys in Arthur's football team. The rest are, to be honest, a bunch of dickheads. Or, as Merlin puts it, 'snobbish cabbage heads mixed with the right portion of uneducated chavs to fulfill the complete cliché of animalistic manliness'._

_"Well...", Gwen says._

_All eyes are on her. "_

_“Okay, I do this. But how do you think you're going to control what I eat?"_

_"Ah, don't worry, I got this planned out.", Arthur waves aside, "You get a different lad of my football team to look after you every day."_

_"What!?" , Morgana says and jumps on her feet, "you are aware that this is forced stalking and that Gwen could sue you if you do this? Besides, who in their right mind would do this?"_

_Arthur huffs out a laugh. "I'm their capitain, they do what I say. And Gwen agreed to do this, so she can take the opportunity to get acquainted with them. Could be useful, in case she loses."_

_"Arthur, you're a lunatic.", Morgana sighs._

_Gwen bumbs her head softly against the wall._

_Morgana follows lead after her. "Well, this is going to be fun..."_

 

One week later:

_"Arthur, you're doing this on purpose.", Gwen violently (which is special for her, if there's something Gwen is not, it's violent) throws her bag away into the corner and marches into the kitchen where Arthur is having tea._

_"What am I, Guinevere?", Arthur asks innocently._

_"Oh, don't you dare give me that look. I mean it's hard enough trying to fill your stomach with tangerines, because you practically have nothing else to do than skinning them; but I swear to you, if there will be one other guy asking me, if I'm always that handsy when it comes to 'pulling back skin', I'm going to pull some of yours.” - Arthur's eyes widen - “Where it hurts. And no, not in that way."_

_Merlin, sitting opposite Arthur at the kitchen table, looks horrified. He never would have encouraged Arthur to bet with Gwen if he'd known it would turn her into a bloodspouting harpy._

_Arthur looks a bit perplexed as well, but still cool._

_"Okay, I'll talk with them. But, you know, some people..."_

_Gwen rolls her eyes and exhales. "Stop being a prat. Hand me a tangerine, please."_

Another two weeks later:

_Gwen is sitting on the couch, anxiously biting all of her nails. (Well, what's left of them. Most of them she broke skinning tangerines, but I guess you figured that much.)_

_Merlin joins her with two mugs of tea and a comforting hug._

_"Just one week left, Gwenny. You can do this, you know you can."_

_"Merlin, you don't understand this. I mean, I loved tangerines, I really did.", she sips on her tea, "but I just can't see them anymore. I've dropped about 3 pounds just last week because I rather don't eat anything."_

_"Oh.", Merlin says, "well, I know it's probably a bit late now, but Morgana and I have pooled together to buy you this."_

_He hands her a package that Gwen grips with shaking fingers._

_It's a tangerine skinner._

_Gwen breaks down laughing and crying at the same time._

_"Shh", Merlin says, "just one more week. It's going to be okay."_

Three days later:

_Gwen is feeling horrible._

_Being in the cafeteria is a torture lately, to watch everybody eat so many different plates, filling their stomachs with things, that, well, actually fill them, while she drinks tea after tea to prevent herself from thinking about the next tangerine._

_Heading down the stairs from her last lecture, she feels dizzy again and trips._

_"Attention, young lady", a warm voice mutters into her ear as some strong hands grip under her arms and help her back up into a standing position again, "stairs are slippery."_

_Gwen nods like a zombie and tries to make out the face to the voice now in front of her._

_"Thank you", she finally manages._

_The arms pull her down so that she is forced to sit on the stairs before she blacks out for a few minutes._

_When the world switches on around her again, her head is resting on a firm pair of shoulders._

_"I wish I could tell you differently, young lady, but to my mind you look a little hypoglycaemic, and I only mean this in the best sort of sense."_

_Gwen barely manages a nod._

_"'m sorry.", she mumbles, "You know, I'm not anorexic, I've just got this stupid bet with a friend of mine and..."_

_"I think it stops being funny when your health is concerned."_

_Gwen notices that she still has no idea who exactly she is talking to. So she sits up and turns slightly, to look into the loveliest pair of eyes that immediately remind her of the brownies her mother used to bake. Also are those dimples?_

_"Would you mind if I invite you to a, say, strawberry sundae?"_

_"I mustn't, I..."_

_But her resistance is crumbling by the second she looks into his eyes again, and this days' watchdog hasn't introduced himself yet, or made himself known or anything, so Gwen just slowly nods and lets herself be escorted to the next café._

_  
_Four days later:

_"Three, two, one..." , Morgana is counting the seconds to midnight like it's Silvester._

_Gwen feels too run down to do anything else than sit at the table and watch the big cake that Merlin helped her bake earlier. She can't wait to tear it apart with her teeth. (She knows that this action would rather apply to some kind of steak. She wants to anyway.)_  
 _The sundae together with Lance was nice, one of the nicest dates - if you call it that - she'd ever had, but she tries not to think about it too much, so she won't feel too guilty when Arthur pays all her groceries for the following month.  
All. Her. Groceries. She still can't believe it._

_Morgana blows into a whistle and starts clapping. Arthur quietens her with a hand movement._

_"Gwen, before I can declare you winner of this bet", Arthur rises from his seat, "let me have this one speech."_

_"Arthur!"_

_Gwen's eyes are burning._

_"Yeah, okay, start eating."_

_So she does. And later she will tell everybody it was the most perfect cake she ever ate, though this always comes out a bit egocentric if you are the one who made it._

_"Anyway, before I declare you winner of this bet, I just wanted to say that I appreciate that you fought. Fought through this month. Fought like the lioness we all know you are on the inside."_

_"Arthur", Merlin interrupts, "Save the drama for later. She's occupied now."_

_"But...", Arthur adds, knowingly ignoring what Merlin just said, "I know that this cake may be the most perfect thing to you in the world right now, but..."_

_Gwen looks up from her cake, crumbles all around her mouth. Morgana is filming the scene with her mobile phone, alternating between her and Arthur's speech. (Which is only a little pathetic,)_

_"But", he adds a third time, "you wouldn't even have started to take our bet seriously, if you would have known who your date would have been."_

_Gwen gulps._

_"I know, I know", Arthur raises his arms in mock apology, "you all think there are only stupid morons playing football with me. But there is one - one, and I'm not talking about Gwaine - waiting, and longing, and pining from afar for the moment in which you are finally gonna notice him, Gwen, and then he will try to convince you to marry him and have lots of lovely little children and whatever it is you straight couples do, and do you know what else?” - Morgana huffs out a laugh -_

_“You would have loved him. Loved him the moment you'd laid eyes on him. But that chance, that one little chance, the chance that I'd be your matchmaker, it is gone now, and it will never come back."_

_He takes a deep breath and looks into the distance with pathos._

_Gwen looks a bit annoyed. Merlin looks concerned. Morgana can't stop giggeling and nearly drops her phone._

_"Instead, I have to ask you-", Arthur goes down on one knee in front of Gwen, "Do you...”, he fumbles for something in his suit jacket, “Do you want to have this tangerine?"_

_Morgana errupts into a fit of laughter, while Gwen slowly takes the tangerine from Arthur's hands, squeezes it with her bare hands and rubs it into his face._

_"Never. Ever. Again.", she says and gets up. She stops in the door and turns around one last time before she's going to make one of the most important phone calls in her life, as she says._

_"Oh, and by the way, thanks for introducing Lance. I think you were right."_

* * *

"Oh, please not into my face! Not again!"

Arthur hides behind Merlin who is still chuckling at the fond memories of how Arthur involuntarily-yet-somewhat-voluntarily brought Gwen and Lance together back in the day.

"I still got that video, by the way", Morgana adds, "I think I posted it on twitter or something."

"Yeah, twitter. Do you still use that?"

"Nah."

"And I've still got that tangerine skinner! Do you want it, now that you're making cakes of them again?", Merlin asks Gwen, about to fetch it from the kitchen.

"Will I get a problem with taxes?", Gwen asks Arthur, not sure about rules for gifts for businesses.

"Not if I can prevent it.", answers Arthur and straightens his tie, because in the end, that's what friends are there for. To be there for each other and to trust them when you're happy as well as when things go awry. Arthur is still an accountant at his father's bank, but when he can spare a moment, he always drops a look at Gwen and Lance's clearing to help secure their business.

Merlin hugs him from the side and looks at him like the knight Arthur always wanted to be when he was younger. (That's what boyfriends are there for.)

"Enough of the gushing, tell me what you've been up to since we spoke last.", Morgana decides while they settle down in the living room, all with a glass of wine (and some ginger ale for Gwen), "You know I've been working in the MoMA's PR Department lately, but I think we didn't manage to catch up properly for the last six months. Last thing I heard Gwen was pregnant. What happened in the mean time?"

"Gwen has decided I'm not challenged hard enough at my internship and takes me out baby shopping nearly every day. I don't know why she never takes Arthur, I swear, he at least manages to dress himself every morning without looking like a total knob-"

"It's called colour consciousness, Merlin."

"Whatever, it's just that I'm sometimes really exhausted after a day of making babies-"

"A day of making babies?”, Morgana's eyebrows rise up to unknown heights again, “What are you doing? Selling your sperm?"

"What? Oh, no, my internship consists mostly of peridural anaesthesias, which means I'm breeding little humans each day and talk to young couples that have a hard time having a baby."

"I swear, it's done nothing to alleviate his god complex.", Arthur adds with a smirk.

"I have no such thing, Arthur!", Merlin fondly slaps his arm, then lets it wind it's way around his back.

"Anyway, it's not my fault if the baby is going to be dressed like a donkey on drugs."

Morgana snorts. "Drugs."

"What is so funny about it?", Gwen asks, "I want my baby to be dressed better than you were, when..."

"Yeah, I was also thinking about that just now."

* * *

_"Exams. Are. Over!", Morgana sing-songs when she comes back home after her last final._

_Gwen is sitting in the kitchen, once again anxiously biting her thumbnail and sipping tea. She can only manage to nod._

_"What is it?", Morgana asks, "You know that means we're going to get absolutely shitfaced tonight and will make out with more guys than we care to count, yeah?"_

_"I think I've screwed them up majorly." , Gwen looks insecure and a deep crease starts to run down her forehead._

_"Oh honey.", Morgana replies and sits down next to her, "Don't you think that's a reason more to drink until you have completely forgotten what it was that buggered you?"_

_Gwen shrugs. "To be honest, no, not really."_

_Morgana sighs. "Then I'm just going to force you to come along and look after you having fun. Where's Merlin?"_

_She tries to look into the living room._

_"Balcony. Having a smoke."_

_"That anxious again?"_

_"Yeah."_

_"And Arthur?"_

_"Also balcony."_

_"Arthur smokes?"_

_"No. I think he likes to watch Merlin smoke or something."_

_"Of course."_

_Morgana sips on Gwen's tea and lets a conspirative smile curl around the corners of her mouth._

_"What?", Gwen asks._

_"Oh, Gwenny.", Morgana says and hugs her, "we're gonna party tonight. Oh yeah."_

 

 _  
_A few hours later:

_"I'm having the time of my life!"_

_Apparently Gwen has drunk enough to completely have forgotten about all of the troubles she had with her exams. That's probably the reason while she has gone to stage-diving in the gay club Morgana has all dragged them too. (Of course nobody has an inkling why.)_

_While Arthur attempts to teach Merlin how to dance ("You have to move your hips that way... No, wait, let me..." "Are you grinding on me?" "Yeah, Merlin, it's a gay club, that's what we're supposed to be doing!" "Oh, okay...") Morgana has worked her way up to the queen of the club (pun intended) and is currently swapping clothes with everyone who dances with her._  
  
 _Which are far too many guys in far too many neon colours, which results in Morgana being half naked most of the time._

_"Morgs! What are you doing?" , Gwen screams down from the shoulders of an unbelievably huge guy._

_"Swapping clothes, like footballers do! You wanna?"_

_"You're practically naked!"_

_"And who cares?", Morgana does a spin and flops her hair._

_"I think the two girls over there are ogling you."_

_"And so they shall!"_

_Morgana presses a kiss to the guy's cheek she last swapped clothes with and abducts Gwen to the loos._

_"I just love my outfit!", she says._

_She is wearing a neon green pair of chino trousers and a pink t-shirt that is three numbers too large for her, which is why she tied it into a knot right over her belly button._

_"I'm just trying to get used to it.", Gwen blinks a few times, like she can't comprehend what has just happened. (She probably really can't.)_

_"I should always wear this."_

_Morgana is widely known for making stupid decisions and then sticking to them until the bitter end. (Yet she always appears somewhat classy and everyone on campus loves her. Or is afraid of her. It's a thin line between.)_

_So Morgana takes out her phone and posts a photo of her and Gwen on twitter. ( ---"Love this gurrrll. Also my outfit. Should only wear pink/green, yeah?")_

_Gwen decides to get back to Merlin and Arthur. Morgana slides an arm around her shoulders and orders another round of shots for them all:_

_Exams are over. Life is fun._

 

 _  
_The next morning:

_Merlin is making coffee in the kitchen and whistling, while Gwen tries to make some pancakes, fails, and does some scrambled egg instead._

_"Merlin, you're in a far too good mood for someone who had to be carried home yesterday.", Arthur announces shaking his head and runs a hand over his eyes._

_Merlin whistles a bit more, puts a steaming mug of coffee in Arthur's hand and adds: "You get cranky when you're tired. Either drink this or go back to bed."_

_Gwen lets the pan fall from her hand. Not because she was overcome by a sudden dizzyspell, but because of the screeching scream from Morgana's room. They all rush in it's direction when Morgana comes out of it crying._

_"What have I done?", she wails._

_"What's happened?", Arthur asks._

_"I think I've burned all my clothes last night and ordered new ones online. Overnightexpress. They're about to be here in twenty minutes?"_

_"And? I don't see the problem.", Gwen admits._

_Morgana looks at them with an expression between disbelief an desperation._

_"They're all pink and green!"_

_Despite the shocked glances, Merlin gives Morgana some coffee and leads her back to the kitchen._

_"It does suit you, you know?", he tries to comfort her._

_Merlin has never been on the receiving end of Morgana's death glare. Now he has to hide under the table._

_The doorbell rings._

_"Oh god."_

_A postman appears in the door frame and wants Merlin to sign for the delivery, who greedily complies and starts to stack the boxes in front of Morgana together with Arthur._

_“Well then, open up.” Arthur's mood as well as Gwen's has somewhat lightened up a lot since Morgana told them about her late night shopping._

_Unwillingly, Morgana starts to pull off the lashes and opens the cardboard box._

_“I can't do this.”, she whines and pushes it away, so Gwen takes over and starts to pull free some of the clothing hidden inside._

_It's mostly pink silk, manufactured into things that could classify as tops, but would rather go by the name “cloth held together by strings”._

_Morgana covers her face, while Merlin and Arthur try to abstain from laughing at her. (They fail miserably.)_

_“Well, sister dearest, unless you want to wander around campus in your pyjamas until you can spent the next fortune on designer clothing, you might as well... try on your new wardrobe.”_

_“I can't believe I did this.”_

_“Also, your loyal twitter minions would love to have you wearing nothing else than pink and green!”, Gwen adds with small smile that still manages to appear fake, “Well, there are also some that ask where you hang out on Saturday or want you to wear nothing, but...”_

_“Yeah, yeah, I get it.”, Morgana finally gives in._

_“I got myself into this and you won't help me get out of it. Fine. What shall I do now?”_

_With a pitched voice Charly Rae Jepsen would have been jealous of, Merlin asks: “Catwalk me maybe?”_

 

_Outfit No# 1:_

_“ _Morgs, I'm filming this!”, Gwen announces.__

_“ _Oh God, why?”, Morgana sneaks up her head through the curtains they clamped in the living room to see her three roommates chilling on the couch, watching her with anticipation. Merlin and Arthur even share some popcorn.__

_“ _For the fun of it, Morgs. Who knows, you could be a star one day!”__

_“ _If this ever goes to facebook I'm going to do horrible things to all three of you.”__

_“ _I didn't even say anything!”, Merlin whines.__

_“ _Yeah, okay, not to you, Merlin.”__

__She goes back behind the curtain before she can see Arthur's severe pout, then pulls them apart and poses with one hand attached to her hip and the other to her forehead._ _

_“ _Let me comment this for the video”, Gwen says, “you can see here a wonderful combination of a pink thong worn as a hat, which makes it so much easier to part your hair in the way you need it. The baby-pink college jacket brings enough hip-hop to the outfit to make the knee long skirt held in dark forest green appear less Victorian era.”__

_“ _Morgs, not for nothing, but I think Merlin just choked on some popcorn.”__

 

_Outfit No#14:_

_“ _Don't worry, this is the last one!”__

__Morgana finally seems to have fun at what she is doing._ _

_“ _Oh, thank god, another one and my eyes would probably have forsaken me to see anything else for good.”__

_“ _Don't complain, Arthur, you forced me to do this.”__

__The last one is an actually cute dress from the fifties with polka dots, that makes Morgana appear like a doll, wouldn't it be for the light green Doc Martens she is wearing in combination._ _

_“ _My eyesight has just died.”, is Gwen's only comment.__

__Morgana smooths down her dress and unfixes the curtain._ _

_“ _Guys, I think I like my new look.”, She turns around with her fists on her hips and smiles at the three people eyeing her like a lunatic. “Might be a bit provocative, but it's summer in the city.” - the last bit she sing-songs, “Who cares?”__

__Three muffled groans._ _

_“ _No, Gwen. I think my__ _brain_ __has just died. Or rather,_ _ _hers_ __.”_ _

* * *

Gwen splutters a bit of her ginger ale.

“Seriously, how long did run around like a... how did you call it, Merlin, 'donkey on drugs'?”

“Oh, I don't know.”, Morgana ponders, “Far too long, hmm?”

Arthur grumbles. He's still a bit embarrassed that he's apparently sharing genes with such a crazy person.

“Oi, Arthur, what is it?”

“Why is it that I always seem to attract the mad people to want to befriend me?”

“Oi!” - That is Merlin now.

“Oh no, not in that way, you know darling, I just...”

Merlin nods and sips his wine. “Don't worry, just kidding.”

“I love you.”, Arthur whispers into his ear for nearly nobody to hear.

“You, too.”, Merlin whispers back.

Gwen coos a bit and snatches away a tear. (The hormones. She totally has this ailing she once got for her best friends' relationship under control now. A few years ago though...)

“See Arthur, that's why you befriend mad people like me. If it wasn't for me you would've probably found the love of your live under some sort of bridge instead.”

“I resent that.”, Merlin says, “It wasn't that bad, I totally-”

“Merlin.”, Gwen interrupts him, “you had already thought about prostitution.”

(“But only to get laid.”, Merlin snaps, so quietly only Arthur can hear it. Arthur chuckles and pecks Merlin's earlobe.)

“Okay. Maybe I would've been a bit fucked up if Morgs wouldn't have come along to save me, but...”

“I won't accept anything less than 'Morgana is my goddess after this act of pure humanity that not only saved my life, but brought love, lust and happiness along the way.'”

“Modest as ever.”, Arthur observes sarcastically, while Gwen sputters a bit of her ginger ale again.

* * *

__Merlin comes out of his anatomy classes. He has no idea how he's ever going to make it a doctor. He's broke._ _

__And not just broke, but probably already deep in debts._ _

__He lights a cigarette._ _

__He's currently staying at his uncle's , but it's small, way too small, and his uncle is dealing with some really strange chemistries, and the exams are coming up and he has no idea how he is going to study with the impending risk of a minor explosion in the next room or the fear that some rats will come out of the toilet. (Don't laugh, this already happened to him.)_ _

__He anxiously drags the smoke in and out of his lungs and thinks about what to do. He's already asked all of the few friends he's made in his short time at uni: They're either in college or have no room to spare. He hasn't got a job. He hasn't even got somebody he could ask for a flatshare. Nobody answered on his inserts on Craigslist._ _

__Everything's a bit fucked up._ _

_“_ _Parliaments_ __? Really?”_ _

__Next to him on the stairs appears a girl with black hair and beautiful eyes, apparently judging his habit of smoking way too cheap cigarettes. Or hitting on him again. He can never tell, and it's always awkward._ _

_“ _Friends' present from Bulgaria.”, he mumbles shyly.__

_“ _Yeah, 'f course”, she says and rolls a cigarette within shortly under a minute and asks him: “Lighter?”__

__He hands it over to her._ _

__After her first drag, she continues: “So, darling, from the looks of it, you just came out of uni and are a bit desperate and anxious and try to calm down. What is it?”_ _

__Merlin blinks at her._ _

_“ _How did you know?”__

_“ _English major, but still taking Psychology classes. Also very empathic. I'm Morgana, by the way.”__

_“ _Merlin.”__

_“ _Cool.”, she exhales. “So, what's the matter?”__

_“ _I... Yeah, well, you know, the usual, grades and stuff...”__

_“ _Exams haven't even started, don't try to mess with me.”__

__She mockingly rebukes him with her index finger._ _

__She's also still smiling, but Merlin starts to be a little bit afraid of her. Nevertheless, he can't help but tell her the truth – all of it – because it's not like he would see an English major of all sorts on campus again any time soon, and for some reason, she seems trustworthy. And like she could help. Which is totally disproportionate for his situation.  
_ _

_“ _I see, darling.”, she says after he's finished, “Do you want a room specifically or just a bed?”__

_“ _Preferably a room, but right now I would probably take anything offered as long as I can sleep for solid five hours.”__

_“ _Because, well, you know what they say, 'do good every day', so I'm absolutely no creeper – yeah, well, maybe a little – but I have a bed to offer to you.”__

__Now Merlin just gapes at her. Which person in their right mind offers a bed to a total stranger on the street?_ _

_“ _What?”__

_“ _Yeah, see, I don't really spend very many nights in my own room, so you could use them for studying and comprehending and whatever you wish to, and I'm sure my roommates don't care for another person joining them at breakfast.”__

__Merlin is looking conspicuously _ _at her__ , while Morgana tries to look innocent._ _

__He flicks away his cigarette and says: “Morgana, not for nothing, but nobody, no matter how crazy, just offers a stranger on the street a bed in their room. You don't even know who I am!”_ _

_“ _Merlin Emrys, 1__ __st_ _ __term medicine, wants to be a doctor but doesn't know which one yet, only came here because his best friend Gwen already studies here for a year, is a total lightweight and only smokes when he's desperate.”, she recites like reading a file._ _

_“ _Do you really think I rather want to share a room with you now?”, he shakes his head, torn between running away from this creepy person and arguing his mind off, “Who are you? How do you...?”__

_“ _Gwen and I shared a room in first year at uni, then we moved together with my half-brother into my dad's apartment. Gwen was pretty upset she couldn't help you, but she told me about it, as I really have a second bed in my room and I just wanted to play Sherlock and find you.”__

__Merlin isn't sure whether to be relieved or just creeped out what kind of friends Gwen apparently made._ _

__On the other hand: If this strange girl – that he now remembers Gwen to have mentioned several times – really is a friend of Gwen's and living together with her, this would be his chance to not only share a flat with Gwen – which he always wanted – but to finally move out of Gaius' cleaning chamber._ _

__Morgana smiles at him. After a second, he smiles back and starts looking for a biro._ _

_“ _Where do I sign?”__

* * *

“You really screwed with my head, there.”, Merlin says and sips his wine, “you were a total stranger, Morgs!”

“Yeah, and you had trust issues and social anxiety and whatnot.”, she waves aside, “But I wanted to make you my little cupcake and you were so cute!” Cooing again from her and Gwen's side.

“That's Morgana for: 'I only needed a pet.'”, Arthur adds.

Morgana throws a little grape at his head and sticks out her tongue.

“It's not funny, Morgs”, Merlin continues, “Can you even imagine how freaked out I was that Gwen had made such strange friends in only one year of separation from me?”

* * *

__Merlin rings the doorbell at the address Morgana gave him._ _

__The afternoon sun is just starting to set behind the London Skyline somewhere behind him, when a blonde guy wearing only a towel opens the door. There's a toothbrush hanging out of his mouth and the sunlight seems to turn his hair into some shiny sort of gold._ _

__Merlin does not drop the carton box with all his possessions in it. Yeah okay, he does._ _

__The guy fetches it, hands it back to Merlin, takes the toothbrush out of his mouth and adds with a slightly irritated smile:_ _

_“ _I don't think you'll be lucky selling those here, my friend. The last time any of us touched a science book must've been five years ago.”__

__Merlin is not quick enough to comprehend all of it – the blonde guy just brushed his fringe out of his eyes, and you must have to have seen them to understand what that means – so he just stumbles: “Ugh, no.” Wait, does the guy think he wants to sell stuff like a boyscout?_ _

__“Morgana wants me to live here.”, he corrects him.  
_ _

__The blonde furrows his brows._ _

_“ _Morgana wants you to live here? Are you one of these homeless stray kids she sometimes pays for a month to keep her bed warm?”__

_“ _What are you talking about?”, Merlin sets the box down. It's getting heavy. “I signed the contract, I'm a friend of Gwen's , we're...”__

_“ _Ahh.”, the blonde's face lightens, “I take it your__ Mer _ _lin then.”__

__Merlin never heard someone pronounce his name so weirdly. Yet it has a strange charm to it, one he isn't sure how to decipher. He nods._ _

_“ _Well, then come in and be our guest.” He steps away from the door and makes an inviting gesture. “My name is Arthur, by the way, I'm Morgs' half-brother. Nice to meet you.”__

__Before Merlin can even answer, Arthur takes the box from his hands and stores it somewhere on a cupboard. Then he quickly changes, gives him a tour through the flat and they wait with some tea in the kitchen until Gwen and Morgana come back from shopping groceries._ _

__They are both super-pleased to see Merlin which leads to a lot of pouting from Arthur - “You used to hug_ _ _me_ __like that!” - and a light atmosphere right away._ _

__When they are all settled with tea, Arthur slaps Merlin's knee and asks: “So,_ _ _Mer_ __lin, how long are you planning to stay? A few days?”_ _

__Merlin's eyes go wide. He's got the feeling he's missing something._ _

_“ _I, err, I... Morgs?”__

_“ _Hmm?”, Morgana looks at him like there's nothing off. Then she realises.__

_“ _Oh, yes, right! I didn't tell Arthur you're going to share the flat with us yet, he's always a bit picky when it comes to legal bill splitting and stuff, but I thought, once I introduced you, he wouldn't be able to say 'no' anymore.”__

__She blinks in Arthur's direction with the best 'pleeeeeease, daddy' expression you could imagine. (She had lots of training.)_ _

__Arthur sets down his mug and glances first at Merlin, then faces Morgana with a stern face._ _

_“ _Morgana, that's all very niceand well planned of you, and as I said already, I'm not opposed to either you or Gwen bringing friends home and them staying for some time, but... Where the hell is Merlin supposed to sleep on your account? We haven't got a spare room left, Gwen's room is too small to share and I don't really think somewhere in your room is space either. At least not until the National Health Service Agency declares it harmless to live there.”__

__Morgana rolls her eyes. It's true, her room is the slightest bit messy. But it's only been one time that she's seen cockroaches under her bed and she didn't even tell Arthur that, so how could he possibly know?_ _

__Just as Merlin wants to say: 'Doesn't matter, I already signed, I sleep on the couch, or no, no I sleep wherever you let me, even in Morgs' bed, I don't care, I...', Gwen concludes before he can:_ _

_“ _Well, he could still share the room with you. You're by far the cleanliest of us, have lots of room you don't use at all and it doesn't come to awkward situations when we've got friends over, as they won't assume Morgana is dating Merlin.”__

__Arthur coughs a bit and winds himself uncomfortably in his chair._ _

__Merlin immediately regrets never having told Gwen he only ever fancied guys and stares at her with a concerned expression, his awkward future already mapping out in his mind._ _

__Morgana sips her tea and looks to and from between Merlin and her brother, who she _ _never__ knew to have bothered with the gender when he had a warm body in his bed._ _

_“ _Seems like a great idea to me”, she confirms Gwen's statement and enjoys the two panicked stares she gets.__

_“ _So I don't have anything to say in the matter?”, Arthur aggressively replies, “This is__ _my_ __father's flat, if I may remind you, and-”_ _

_“ _As it is my father's.”, Morgana cuts in, “And we are all equally sharing the rent in here, so you don't have any privileges, except for the biggest room, which you could easily share with a friend in need.”__

_“ _I don't even know him!”, Arthur nearly shouts, “For all I know, he could be a, a, a complete psychopath or a creeper like your ex, and I don't want...”__

__Merlin coughs. “Still here, y'know.” His ears are a bit red. He's practically seen Arthur half-naked already and it didn't seem like a big problem to him so far. Why is all turning into one now?_ _

_“ _Sorry, Merlin.”, Gwen mouths to him and grabs his hand over the table.__

_“ _Arthur.”, Morgana says to him with a determined stare. “I don't know why you are suddenly getting so defensive, but sometimes I think it would suit a lot better if you'd just get a little more__ tolerant" _\- slightly aggressive raised eyebrows - "_ __around others and put that damn stick out of your arse?”__

__Arthur's cheeks turn mildly red and he quickly looks to Gwen, then pointedly stares at Morgana._ _

__Morgana just smiles back coolly, as if to say: “Don't worry, no one will notice you're a bit bi, little brother.”_ _

__Arthur pinches his nose and exhales through his mouth._ _

_“ _Sorry, Merlin.”, he says, “Of course I'm going to share a room with you.”__

__Before Merlin can reply a stumbled answer with too many 'thank yous' and 'sorry for your inconveniences' and 'I practically have no other chances', Arthur gets up and leaves the kitchen._ _

__Gwen hugs Merlin, who still wears the same desperate expression he did when Morgana found him in front of his anatomy building._ _

_“ _So she doesn't know you're gay?”, Morgana mouths behind Gwen's back and points at her.__

__Merlin almost imperceptibly shakes his head._ _

__Morgana smiles warmly at him and covers his hand with hers. Then she has to hide her smile behind her mug. This is going to be so much fun..._ _

* * *

“Just so we're on the same page one more time”, Merlin says and turns around to face Arthur, “you were really rude when we met first and I felt like the awkward unwanted guest that had no chance to disappear like everybody, including himself, wished.”

Arthur pouts again. “And I thought you loved being treated like Harry Potter.”

“You couldn't possibly have known back then.”, Merlin grumbles and snuggles back up Arthur's tummy on his lap.

* * *

__The next morning Arthur stumbles into the kitchen yawning and realises once more how much he hates Thursdays. It's the day Morgana and Gwen managed to have no lectures on, so he always has to manage to wake up by himself somehow._ _

__This day though, someone shoves a cup of coffee in his hand and asks: “Slept well, princess?”_ _

__Arthur blinks a few times, first at the mug, then in the direction of the sounds he just heard. Something is different than usual. Arthur doesn't do well with differences. He doesn't answer and takes a few sips of the coffee instead. It's surprisingly good._ _

__Then he remembers, and is able to make out Merlin, the guy he apparently has to spend most nights with from now on, in front of him, smiling over some toast and butter._ _

_“ _Yeah... yeah, quite.”, he finally answers and flops down in his usual chair.__

_“ _How did you manage to brew this?”, he asks.__

_“ _Oh, I saw the coffee machine was broken, so I went looking for my old[cafetière](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v07cpVNvrLk) over there – you know, Italian way to brew coffee perfectly – and made some strong coffee. I need it, I feel like I've got all my lectures on Thursday.”, he sighs and butters another toast.__

_“ _Yeah, me too.”, Arthur chuckles emphatically and drinks some more of his coffee. It's probably the best he's ever had.__

_“ _Sucks, doesn't it?”, Merlin asks and offers Arthur a toast, “Want some?”__

__Arthur happily takes it and adds after a few bites: “I take back everything I said yesterday. You're probably the best thing Morgana's brought home so far. And that includes five super-drunk girls in mini skirts.”_ _

__A warm feeling spreads through Merlin's stomach. (Though he just got compared to various jailbaits.)_ _

_“ _Aren't you going to quote 'Casablanca' now?”, he asks.__

_“ _Well,__ _Mer_ __lin, now I_ _ _indeed_ __think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”_ _

* * *

“See? I made up for anything right the morning after!”, Arthur tries to straighten his posture to appear less guilty.

“Yeah, of course.”, replies Morgana, who is occupied stroking Gwen's tummy.

“No.”, Merlin whispers into Arthur's ear, “you made up for it _that_ morning after.”

“Which one?”, Arthur whispers back and wriggles his eyebrows.

Merlin chuckles and slaps Arthur's stomach lightly. “Good one, though.”

* * *

_“_ _Merrrrr_ __lin”, Arthur complains, “could you pleeease turn the light out now? I know, anatomy is probably the hardest thing ever to study, but you are prepared, you know?"  
_ _

__Merlin doesn't even bother to look up from the textbook he's had his nose stuck in all week._ _

_“ _One moment.”__

__Arthur throws a pillow at his head._ _

_“ _Merlin! There are people trying to sleep here!”__

__Again, without looking up Merlin fires back with his pillow. Then he takes Arthur's, stuffs his textbook under it and turns the light off._ _

_“ _I might do now as you asked, sire.”, he adds sleepily, “Sleep well.”__

_“ _Yeah, you too.”, Arthur replies huddling himself into Merlin's pillow. (Might also be his. They lost track after the second pillow fight they had.)  
__

__They are living together for almost a year now, and exams are close. They're accustomed to each other's habits of late night studying by now, know what the other needs to eat when hungover and can recite quite some school time stories of each other._ _

_“ _Merlin?”, Arthur asks after a moment, propping his head up on his hand.__

_“ _Mhm?”, Merlin mumbles, nearly fallen asleep already.__

_“ _Why do you always sleep on your textbooks? Isn't it uncomfortable?”__

__Merlin opens his eyes again and props his head up as well._ _

_“ _For luck. My mother used to tell me that dreams would come from the things beneath my pillow, so I always made sure there wouldn't be anything under it. Then in school, I tried to dream of my revision stuff. Didn't work, really, but, you know...”__

__He shrugs with one arm and smiles._ _

_“ _So you never put your teeth under your pillow?”, Arthur inquires further.__

_“ _My teeth?”, Merlin squints, “Why would I put my teeth under my pillow?”__

__Arthur disbelievingly stares at him in the dark._ _

_“ _Has no one ever told you about the tooth fairy?”__

__Merlin raises one eyebrow: “Err... no?”_ _

__Arthur smiles._ _

_“ _Then I might as well. Lie down, close your eyes, it's going to be your bedtime story...”__

__He thinks of the story his mother used to tell him, of the little girl without teeth that then came to reward all the children giving her their teeth and tells it to Merlin until he can hear his even breathing and is sure Merlin's fast asleep._ _

_“ _Thanks, Arthur”, Merlin mumbles with a smile on his lips, just as Arthur snuggles into his blanket. “I've never had a friend who would do this for me.”__

_“ _No bother, Merlin.”, Arthur replies and is just about to fall asleep when he hears Merlin whisper, almost like to himself:__

_“ _How come all the cheesy moments always appear nothing more than just very nice with you?”__

__And the warm feeling spreads in Arthur's stomach as well._ _

* * *

“Guys, not for nothing, but it's getting incredibly cheesy.”, Morgana sighs. (Gwen needs to wipe a little tear from her eye. The hormones...)

“Why are you even telling us this?”, she asks.

“You wanted to know why there was a silver ring on Merlin's finger?”, Arthur obliviously snaps back.

Morgana and Gwen stare at him. Merlin coughs.

“No, she didn't, Arthur.”, he finally says, “That's just your obsession with it.”, and blushes a bit.

“SHOW ME!”, Morgana demands and almost rips Merlin's arm off when she pulls his hand over to admire the little piece of silver jewellery.

“Oh my god, Merlin! Arthur!”, Gwen squeals, “Congratulations!”

“I can't believe it.”, Morgana lets Merlin's hand fall, “My little brother is getting married.”

Now it's Gwen's turn to examine Merlin's ring.

“But... how? When?”

Merlin shuffles a bit and blushes even more.

Arthur strokes his side and says: “Yesterday. It was our anniversary, and well, we've apparently managed the seventh year, so I thought, well, now is as good as ever.”

He smiles at Merlin and gives him another kiss on the cheek.

“I have no words for the sappiness in your grins, you know?”, Morgana says. Then she gets up.

Everybody looks at her like she wants to go. She rolls her eyes.

“Guys, hugs would be appropriate!?”

“Oh, right.”, the others comply and continue to do so.

* * *

__The night after Morgana's decision to re-evaluate her dresscode – the green and pink things had finally vanished from the washing machine – and right before the second year at uni for Merlin should begin, he is lying in his bed, wide awake._ _

__He never had problems with falling asleep, on the contrary, he usually jumps into his bed and is out of this world within mere minutes, to wake up alive and kicking each and every morning like a young god._ _

__It's just tonight that it doesn't work like this._ _

__Arthur and Morgana are back from vacating in their father's summer residence and he has spent the summer mostly alone in the flat, revising stuff, working at a hospital, and... sort of pining._ _

__He hadn't realised he would miss his friends so much. The mornings without having to practically pull Arthur from bed felt empty, as well as his evenings did without Morgana dragging all of them with her to some freaky event of some sort._ _

__They texted daily, yet it wasn't the same._ _

__And when Arthur came back earlier, it suddenly all came rushing back, the light-headed feeling of self-confidence he always felt around them and all the emotional association with Arthur's face. Arthur's tanned, ever smiling face that spread into a wide, goofy grin as he hugged him tightly._ _

__That was the moment Merlin feared all along: To fall for his roommate._ _

__Who is, by what Gwen tells him, some sort of royal slut, and by what Morgana tells him, the best boyfriend he could ever come across._ _

__And, by what his heart tells him, all he ever longed for._ _

__Arthur on the other hand, is just snoring lightly on his side of the room and unaware of Merlin's desperate stare in his direction._ _

__It's disheartening how he can't seem to manage to stop falling for straight guys._ _

__So he gets up and goes to the kitchen. Normally he would just prepare some tea, but he knows that Gwen and Morgana have to get up early the next morning and he doesn't want to wake them, so he heads straight for the bottle of milk from the fridge._ _

_“ _I don't want to move out. My life has only just begun to be cool.”, he whispers into the darkness and feels way more pathetic than he did when he had cornflakes there alone at 3am.__

_“ _Why would you have to move out?”__

__A ruffled Arthur with a concerned expression on his face appears in the door frame, sleepily scratching his tummy under his undershirt._ _

__Merlin startles and turns around, eyeing him with anxiety._ _

_“ _Err... what?”, is all he can manage.__

_“ _Merlin.”, The sleepiness is gone from Arthur's features as he _ _slowly__ comes closer, “Don't pretend to be stupid. It doesn't suit you.”__

__He takes the bottle from Merlin's hand and empties the last drops with a few gulps._ _

_“ _You've been acting weird all night and I would have to be pretty thick not to notice. Have we left you alone for too long?”__

__He looks into Merlin's eyes as if he is searching for an explanation. Merlin turns away._ _

_“ _Come on, Merlin. Don't let me go 'Trial and Error' here.”__

__Merlin sighs and wraps his arms around himself before he feels able to look at Arthur again._ _

_“ _It's... you know, not like you think.”, he tries.__

__Arthur rolls his eyes. “Apparently, it's never like I think, because that's all Morgana and you and basically everybody else tries to tell me_ _ _all_ __the time. But you're my friend,_ _ Mer _ _lin. You should be able to tell me, whatever it is. I can't bring it to my mind to judge you.”_ _

__He's now nearly uncomfortably close to Merlin, which makes his breathing hitch and his heart prod faster. His pupils dilate. All the signs of emotional attachment, he quickly analyses. He can't believe Arthur wouldn't notice, too._ _

_“ _Okay, it's... I know you wouldn't. It's just... You know when, uhm, in a novel, or, or a movie, there are... girls, and well, then it sort of always gets awkward, when...”__

__He has no idea what he tries to explain – altogether with his hands – so he just stops there, warily eyeing Arthur staring at him with an expression that resembles a fish's._ _

__He gulps. Then the expression is gone._ _

_“ _Aww, Merlin found a girlfriend when we were not close enough to stop him?”, he slaps Merlin's arm so that it hurts only a little bit and rests his hand there. “Well done, mate.”__

__Arthur chuckles._ _

__Merlin feels – and looks – miserable._ _

_“ _No Arthur”, he whispers and looks down, “No, I didn't. And trust me, no, believe me when I say that I never will.”__

__Arthur's hand drops from his shoulder._ _

_“ _Please, Merlin, stop selling yourself short. I've told you many times, and we have to admit, lots of them__ _were_ __cheesy, what a wonderful person you are and believe me when I say, there are loads of girls just waiting to...”_ _

_“ _Arthur, please.”__

__Merlin looks him in the eyes and Arthur immediately stops prattling. He doesn't cry, but he feels like his eyes must hold all the tragic desperation tearing at his heart strings._ _

_“ _I will never find a girlfriend because I'd never__ _want_ __to have a girlfriend.”_ _

__The silence after a sentence like that is always awkward. No matter how accepting one can be._ _

__Before Merlin can add: “And also, because the only person I'd ever want to date is you.”, Arthur exhales noisily and chuckles._ _

__Well, he doesn't really chuckle, it sounds more like he's laughing at Merlin._ _

_“ _What?”, Merlin snaps.__

_“ _Oh, Merlin.”, Arthur breaths between hitched laughs and puts his hand back to Merlin's shoulder to keep himself upright.__

_“ _Why is this funny? What are you laughing at?”__

__If possible, Merlin only feels more miserable right now._ _

_“ _The absurdity of the situation.”, Arthur prompts after he's finished laughing and only just grins at Merlin, the same big goofy grin he wore when he entered the flat to hug Merlin earlier.__

_“ _You know, if only I'd known...”__

_“ _Then what?”, Merlin asks, “you would have stopped wondering earlier, wouldn't have tried to find a girlfriend for me, wouldn't have laughed at Morgana all the time-”__

_“ _No”, Arthur interrupts him with a finger on his lips that fulfills all it's intentions to distract and quieten Merlin, “then...”, Arthur turns to him completely now, so that they almost share breath and whispers into his ear, “then I would have done this__ a lot _earlier-_ __”_ _

* * *

“Guys, please, it was traumatic enough to find the two of you snogging at breakfast the next morning, could you please just... not tell the whole story?”, Morgana complains.

“As if it bothered you, you planned this all along, admit it!”, Merlin pokes his finger into her side.

“Besides...”

* * *

__Of course Merlin expects Arthur to kiss him after that, and of course he does and it's all the things he likes about Arthur combined: There are quick kisses like the drawings Arthur sometimes doodled on Merlin's lunch bags before his exams, sweet like the bedtime stories they told each other, sunny like Arthur's mood and the mentality he brought with him from Italy, and well, they also taste like toothpaste, which reminds Merlin of Arthur's slight OCD when it comes to cleaning his room, and just under all of it he can lick away the taste of milk, the taste of all their teas shared together so far._ _

__Arthur parts from him with a silent nod to the door and finally his smile has infected Merlin and they just stand there for a few seconds, smiling at each other like little lunatics._ _

_“ _Want to move this to our room?”, Arthur asks and trades their fingers together.__

_“ _Oh, that greedy already, yeah?”, Merlin chuckles quietly.__

_“ _Well, this too, but, you know, I think we've got voyeurs among us.”__

__He makes a slight movement with his head to the door. When Merlin follows it, he can only vastly make out Morgana's shadow hopping from the door, along with a distant cooing sound._ _

* * *

"I did not creep on you!", Morgana tries to set right, "Well, not much."

They all laugh.

"Well, some things will never change, will they?"

 

**Author's Note:**

> The flashbacks aren't told in a chronological order, as you probably have detected. So the first one is the last from the time setting, the one with Morgana happening before Merlin and Arthur got together, and the very first when Merlin moved to the flat. Hope that helped understanding, if there were problems!
> 
>  
> 
> Note: As I'm not a native speaker/writer there may be some unusual words used which seem to fit with my understanding of their meaning, but I'm not entirely sure whether they're right in their places. Also, spelling and grammatical errors. Please excuse them and don't bother much :)


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